1. Technical Field
The disclosed embodiments relate in general to systems and methods for generating and using embedded media markers, which signify existence of media or function associated with a part of a document as well as articles embodying such embedded media markers, and, more particularly, to systems and methods for implementing and using off-center embedded media markers and articles containing them.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional embedded media markers, or simply EMMs, are nearly transparent iconic marks printed on paper documents or other tangible articles that signify the existence of media associated with a specific part of the document. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0154174 discloses a system and method for generating and using such embedded media markers. By using a semi-transparent boundary that encompasses the signified document patch with enough visual features, a conventional embedded media marker can guide users' camera operations for media retrieval. Users take a picture of the embedded media marker-signified document patch using a smartphone camera, and the media associated with the marker-signified document location is automatically displayed on the smartphone's display. In other words, the embedded media marker operates substantially similarly to a link to a local or external media object related to the article embodying the embedded media marker or any specific part thereof.
However, the conventional media markers are intrusive because they must be printed over features of the document and may visually interfere with the appearance of the affected document features. Thus, less intrusive alternatives to the conventional embedded media markers are desirable.